


The Demigods of Miyagi

by sciophyte



Series: let the sky fall [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen, Heroes of Olympus AU, adventure i guess?, started with Datekou because of personal preference but they're not the main characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-02-06
Packaged: 2018-03-05 01:37:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3100226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sciophyte/pseuds/sciophyte
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every year, in the Miyagi branch of Camp Half-Blood, a team of experienced demigods search for the newly-turned-15-years-old demigods in order to bring them to camp. This year, Daichi's map isn't working, the counsellor of Hermes cabin gets a prophetic dream, and Moniwa Kaname is (resignedly) exasperated with the lot of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I shouldn't be getting this dream

**Author's Note:**

> It's not a horror story (because I can't write horror). Trying to start writing again so that I won't be unable to string a complete sentence together when school starts.  
> Update: Re-edited and made the first chapter longer because I thought more world-building and plot was needed. 
> 
> (Bokuto isn't in Athena because he doesn't know the kanji of nayami (worry) but he is a big fan of Athena for reasons to be explained later :) )

He couldn't see anything but black, black darkness. Never having much of a brain-to-mouth filter, he shouts out, "Is this just a huge joke? I'm kind of trying to get some sleep here!" into the gloom. _Dad's kind of the ultimate jokester anyway..._

As if taunting him for calling this a joke, a bright blue triangle suddenly materialised, burning its way into his brain. He tried to close his eyes, but his eyelids acted like they had been glued stiff. As quickly as it had appeared, the triangle turned increasingly transparent. He let out a sigh, hoping he had seen the last of it, but then he realised that it wasn't the triangle turning transparent. It was simply blending into the darkness, a result of the hulking, monstrous shadow (now **that** was scarier) now covering it.

A girl's high pitched scream. He heard a dull clunk, as if something had hit metal, and then there was silence.

The shadow, illuminated by the fading light of the sign, steadily grew smaller, until it was obvious that it had now assumed a human-esque figure, albeit quite a midgety looking human figure. The figure jumped upwards, and holy Hades who could even jump that high?!? He vaguely remembers one nickname, Small Giant. _But the small giant was dead, wasn't he? Challenged bigger and bigger monsters until one day the arrows in his quiver were too little and the healing powers he spent years training were simply not enough..._

The scene shifted. Wind howled amidst cloudy gray skies, fields appeared in the distance. A young boy, his hair plastered to his freckled, acne-scarred face, struggled to lift a heavy backpack as taunts were called out at him. Suddenly, the flash of a knife. The taunts stopped as abruptly as they had started. "Pathetic." The tall, blond knife-wielder snorts, before the vision disappears abruptly.

"Great, now I'm awake and it's like I haven't slept at all..." He groans and tries to blink his eyes awake, but his eyes continue to snap themselves shut. "Noya and Tanaka, you Karasuno pranksters, I swear..." Suddenly his eyes are open, and a voice in his brain tells him "...had to make sure you didn't see the rest..." Futakuchi swears, turning to look at the clock on his bedside. Admittedly, he was unnerved by the visions, he's always been too unimportant to have them anyway, since they had an oracle and Ushijima Wakatoshi. He figures he's got a bit of time before breakfast starts, and who better to consult about this than his senior?

 

* * *

 

 

Moniwa Kaname doesn't wake up when his alarm rings at 8.00a.m. because precisely 15 minutes before that, a bright light shines through his eyelids, forcing him to swat around his face. The light stops shining, and Moniwa opens his bleary eyes only to see the most troublesome junior he has ever had the misfortune of knowing.

He blinks, and starts yet another pointless lecture. "Futakuchi, this isn't Datekou, I'm not going to be solving your problems when there are so many other seniors you can ask, and aren't you a head counselor now, shouldn't you act like..." Moniwa falls silent at the sight of Futakuchi's uncharacteristically serious face.

"Fine...what's wrong now?"

Futakuchi pours out the entire story and expects Moniwa to think it's a huge joke, after all, why would Futakuchi, resident troublemaker of Camp Half-Blood's Japanese branch even get visions of the future or past or present or just visions in general? But Moniwa doesn't do that. Moniwa stands up, taps a button on his clean workdesk and waits patiently (doesn't he always?). The workweek flips its surface around and hey, who knew Moniwa's desk could be that messy?!? Pens and scraps of paper litter themselves across the desk, a calculator with numbers flashing on its screen sits atop a half-eaten sandwich...

Moniwa picks up the calculator and the sandwich with one hand and a piece of paper with the other. He waves his hand with the sandwich over a panel, a hole appears, the sandwich falls through and lands with a satisfying thud.

"Cool! Is that your dustbin? Moniwa-san, as you said I'm a counselor so shouldn't I get one as well?"

Moniwa sighs, not exasperatedly but with a restrained resignedness. He waves the paper at Futakuchi. It's empty.

Futakuchi stares. "Uhh, it's blank..you sure you're awake, Moniwa-san?"

Moniwa gives him **the** look. It doesn't work. " _The point is_ that it's blank. This is the map." He says it with a somewhat reverent tone.

Futakuchi opens his mouth to shoot off yet another unnecessary comment, but Moniwa must have noticed the confusion on his face. "You know, the map that allows us to find the new campers who've turned 15 every year instead of having them have to find their way to us? It's supposed to have shown us the route to finding the demigods in this year's batch two days ago, but it hasn't been working and I think your dream has got to do with it."

Futakuchi tries to process all this. Before he can get to it though, Moniwa is already pushing him out the door of the cabin. "Okay, we're going to Hephaestus cabin. You can tell Sawamura about the whole story and I can tell him that his map is malfunctioning."

"Why didn't you tell him two days ago?" Futakuchi asks cheekily, knowing exactly what Moniwa's going to reply.

"I might have been wrong and then Sawamura would look at me with that look and ask "Aren't you the head counselor of Athena?" in that tone of his and then I'd get..."

"Scared, Moniwa-san?"

"Urkkk..no. The point is, Sawamura's "stable" map is apparently not so stable as he said it was." A hint of a grin plays on Moniwa's lips.

"Okay, whatever, but at this rate I'm definitely going to miss breakfast."

 

* * *

 

  
  
Futakuchi has never been inside the Hephaestus cabin, not because Daichi Sawamura banned him like he did to a certain two other pranksters who frequently wreaked havoc around camp, but because he doesn't have any friends from Datekou in the cabin. Also because it's always like a huge, smoky furnace in there, even though the campers have their own work bunker, they just seem to love smoking up their cabins and giving themselves some form of cancer early. However, he has to admit that the cabin is state of the art, even more so than the Athena cabin. For starters, when he walks in the door, feeling Moniwa's stare behind him, (silently urging him to hurry up, he wants breakfast too), a shiny robot (the exact replica of Wall-E's EVA, he notes, someone here must be a Pixar fan) floats out of practically nowhere and plants itself in front of him.  
  
"Password?" It squeaks, in a tone that has Futakuchi laughing upon hearing the word and Moniwa grimacing as he peeks around Futakuchi to look at the robot.  
  
Futakuchi unsuccessfully tries to stop laughing and splutters out, "Your voice is horrible and I don't have a password to your cabin, can't you tell I'm not from this cabin? Where's your counselor?"  
  
Upon hearing the word counselor, the robot squeaks and disappears into the cabin, which is full of humming machinery, floating lights and is that a hoverboard?!? Unfortunately, Daichi appears just as Futakuchi is trying to climb onto the hoverboard.  This causes Futakuchi to scramble down, because that guy is seriously scary with his dark glare accented by the scars from a few minor engineering mishaps, how is he even friends with Sugawara, who is like the nicest counselor ever?  
  
Daichi coughs. Moniwa's face is absolutely red with embarrassment for his junior and the edges of his expression are starting to crack in a way that means _I'm trying to act like a mature and responsible leader here when all I'd like to do is laugh at you or maybe scold you or maybe hide in the ground and not face the world again_ but he manages to pull the map out from his jeans pocket and brandishes it at Daichi with a (attempted) triumphant "Your map isn't working, and it definitely isn't my fault!" (At least I think it isn't, he adds to himself in an undertone.)  
  
Futakuchi adds snippily , "And your robot's voice is absolutely horrible, it sounds like the Seijou cheer we hear during Capture the Flag, you know, like a dying whale?"  
  
Moniwa attempts to shut Futakuchi up with a glare, but Daichi's already reverted back to his (usual) calm and composed self. He mutters, "I'm definitely going to have a word with Ennoshita about infusing movie references into his lousy prototypes..." as he takes the map from Moniwa, pulls a tiny screwdriver out of his tool belt, and starts to unscrew tiny little screws Moniwa didn't even know existed on the "paper". After observing some of the connections, Daichi replaces the screws and hands it back to Moniwa, asking, "Why didn't you show me this earlier?"  
  
"So, there's something wrong with it? I knew i-"  
  
"Actually, there's nothing wrong with it, it's functioning perfectly." Daichi smiles broadly, which causes Moniwa's face to take on that worrying look he got whenever he wasn't sure about anything, which was most of the time. "Nothing showing up could mean there's been interference with the Mist, which is where the map gets its' projections from. It's supposed to take the coordinates of the demigods using some element in the Mist and project it to a map of Japan."  
  
"So you're saying?"  
  
"Either there's a monster at work or the gods have gotten bored and need new entertainment."  
  
Moniwa doesn't look too happy about either of the prospects. He jabs Futakuchi in the side, which Futakuchi takes as a cue to tell his story. When he's finished, Moniwa announces tentatively, "So I think, maybe we should have a meeting, since I don't think we had one in ages, and this is obviously, at least to me, very important-"  
  
Daichi nods. Moniwa stares up at him nervously, which earns him a sigh and a pointed, "You started this, I'm not going to be calling them all here. Use the drachmas, _Athena_ head." Daichi then stalks out the door, and the last Futakuchi sees of him is his broad back disappearing into a breezy garden cottage-like cabin.  
  
Moniwa shrugs and his shoulders visibly slacken. Encounters with Karasuno's leader always seem to scare him, no matter how much he tries to pretend otherwise. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a drachma, taps a few places on it with meticulous care and puts it back, oblivious to Futakuchi's impatience.  
  
"Can we actually get breakfast now? What meeting is that, do I get to be there? Why don't I get one of those? Why do you have so many cool things when you're such an uncool person?"  
  
"Fine, the meeting's for the leaders, you have to come, I can't tell them the story, no one would believe me, because of reasons, I'm not answering that last question."


	2. The Super Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Super Six have a meeting which turns out to be less meeting and more waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //crosses fingers and prays for good weather

It's 9.10a.m. and half the leaders aren't even present in the meeting room.  
  
"I'm giving them 5 more minutes," Daichi grumbles, "How are they the leaders of Seijou when they're late for even a simple meeting. Especially Iwaizumi, he's normally more reliable than this.."  
  
Sugawara laughs, "I don't think it's got anything to do with Iwaizumi. Remember we saw Oikawa heading towards the other side of the lake while we were heading to the mess hall for breakfast?" Daichi grunts his assent but still looks disgruntled.  
  
It seems like an eternity waiting for five minutes to pass as Futakuchi taps his foot for what is probably the thousandth time and Moniwa starts to feel his patience slowly wearing out. Moniwa is about to sigh and just fill Sugawara in on what's been going on when he hears the sound of approaching footsteps. The four of them turn towards the entrance in hopeful expectation.  
  
"Sorry! We're late because Iwa-chan was -" Oikawa Tooru says breezily as he strides in, pushing through the wispy green curtains that flank the entrance of the Poseidon cabin. Next to him, Iwaizumi Hajime bows to the rest of them, an apologetic expression on his face.  
  
Even though no one's actually heard the reason why Oikawa was late, everyone's expressions relax upon hearing "sorry", Sugawara nods his understanding and Moniwa is just about to reply that it's okay, they can start now(better late than never) when Iwaizumi straightens up, wrinkles his nose, raises his hand and cuffs Oikawa on the head. He looks more annoyed than apologetic now.  
  
"Ow! Iwa-chan, you meanie!"  
  
"What the hell are you spouting now, Trashykawa, you were taking a photo with those naiads at the lake! I bet you weren't even planning on showing up, Idiotkawa."  
  
Oikawa has the grace to look contrite upon hearing the accusation and smiles somewhat sheepishly. Daichi rolls his eyes and gestures for Moniwa to start.  
  
Oikawa isn't finished though. Although Iwaizumi starts to take a seat, Oikawa scans the room and its' occupants with narrowed eyes before questioning smugly, "Wait, where's Ushiwaka-chan?" Moniwa assumes he thinks Ushijima skipped out, or something like that.  
  
Sugawara looks at the rest tentatively, as if waiting for some form of confirmation. "Ushijima left on a quest yesterday evening. He mentioned something like a disturbance near his school, if I recall correctly." Moniwa notices that Sugawara doesn't add that it was Kiyoko who gave Ushijima the quest, since her divinations seemed to be hinting at one of the Big Three, and who else would it be if not Ushijima?  
  
It turns out the mention of Ushijima and quest in the same sentence is enough to rile Oikawa. His features twist into an annoyed pout and he whines, "What do you mean another quest? Didn't he just go on one last week? Ushiwaka-chan gets all the good stuff, it's not fair~"  
  
"Shut up, dumbass Oikawa. No one in this room even cares about whether you're losing to Ushijima on quests," Iwaizumi says, "I presume this meeting was called to talk about a quest?"  
  
Moniwa jabs Futakuchi in the side. Futakuchi, who was clearly zoning out judging from his glazed eyes, yawns widely before recounting the story in a bored tone. Moniwa supposes it can't be helped since it's kind of Futakuchi's third time saying this.

 

* * *

 

 

  
"Yeah, so after all that creepy stuff, I went to find Moniwa-san, oh and did you know? He keeps half-eaten sandwiches on his table," Futakuchi snickers, "but anyway Moniwa-san said that this tallies with the fact that some piece of paper is blank, which doesn't make much sense, but Daichi-san agrees with him. Wait, I don't get this part either..."  
  
Moniwa sighs and explains Daichi's theory - the map's unable to display the locations of the first-years because of some interference with the mist, either due to godly intervention or a monster - conveniently leaving out the part where he accuses Daichi's map of malfunctioning. When he's done, Sugawara and Iwaizumi both have grave expressions on their faces and even Oikawa has adopted his look of concentration that he normally reserves for planning his Capture The Flag strategy.  
  
Sugawara offers, "Do you guys think the Romans are facing the same problem?" and Daichi nods agreement, shooting Sugawara a grateful look. He takes out a drachma, throwing it into the miniature waterfall at the end of the room.  
  
"O, Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering. Show me the Praetors-"  
  
"The mature one-"  
  
"Can you just keep your mouth shut?! Um, Goddess Iris, my apologies, the Praetors of the Roman Legion, Tokyo."  
  
Nothing.  
  
"Ha. I knew it! Both of them are so childish she doesn't even want to contact them."  
  
"Futakuchi..."  
  
"No, it's not that. Something's fishy about this, it's probably got something to do with the fact that our map isn't working either."  
  
Oikawa scoffs, "You sure it's not those two on the other end? Praetors, ha! More like Play-tors." This earns him another cuff on the head from Iwaizumi, who looks like he's trying to hide his own smile.  
  
Daichi, Sugawara and Moniwa exchange glances, which vary from frustrated, to amused, to resigned.  
  
"Guys, how about we just consult Kiyoko-san on this?"  
  


 

* * *

 

  
Kiyoko Shimizu is sitting at her work-desk reorganising quest files (which were pioneered by her after Oikawa and Ushijima started their quest rivalry) when the light streaming in from the entrance gets blocked out. Kiyoko is unfazed.  
"So, Super Six, what brings you here today?"  
  
"Are you kidding me? You guys call yourselves the Super Six? That's the lamest name I've ever heard."  
  
Moniwa sighs. "Why are you looking at me like that? It wasn't my idea, Futakuchi."  
  
Iwaizumi glares at Oikawa. Daichi walks over and passes the map to Kiyoko, who gets what's been going on without even being told. "Do you want a quest prophecy for this?"  
  
"Oh, there's no need, Kiyoko-san, we just want to check if we can visit the Roman camp."  
  
Kiyoko pauses, seemingly in deep thought, before nodding. She offers with a rare smile, "You might want to send some demigods from each school. Maybe those troublemakers from Hermes, they're quite ready for a quest."  
  
Futakuchi splutters. Kiyoko pays him no notice. With that cryptic statement, she ushers them out the door.  
  
Daichi and Sugawara share a look. "You think?"  
  
"Daichi, don't look so horrified, Noya's got powers that are pretty useful for this, and Tanaka's been pretty on form recently. I'll go with them."  
  
Daichi doesn't look reassured, but he doesn't want to disagree with Kiyoko either.  
  
Moniwa shrugs and turns to Futakuchi. Futakuchi figures he's probably going to ask him to go. "So, me and Aone? He needs to know, I guess, especially since Iris Messaging isn't working, and he's got the best pegasi flying skills in the whole camp."  
  
Moniwa isn't looking forward to telling Aone that Iris Messaging is down, but he figures Futakuchi will probably do a better job of it. "You guys work pretty well together. Anyway, Kiyoko's right, unclaimed kids go in Hermes, assuming we find any kids to begin with. But we will, I think, you guys just go out there and defend well against anything! Not that I'm saying you're going to encounter monsters, but.." He says, trying to reassure himself.  
  
Meanwhile, Oikawa is pleading to Iwaizumi, who looks distinctly unamused. "Iwa-chan~~ Ushiwaka will beat me if I don't go on another quest."  
  
"Shittikawa, you've been on so many already, give a chance to others!"  
  
"But Mattsun just told me yesterday that he's not going on anything because he needs to train the juniors ("Isn't that your job?") and you know how Makki's like...Come on, Iwa-chan!! It'll be really-"  
  
Oikawa's words are lost to a cracking sound, which causes everyone in the vicinity to stare. "Iwa-chan!! You mean brute, you've ruined my nose!" Oikawa blubbers as Iwaizumi drags him away, probably to the infirmary. No one misses the brief look of shock (and concern) across Iwaizumi's face, though.  
  
Daichi shrugs. "It's his new power. He isn't good at controlling it yet, though. So, Suga, you'll handle Noya and Tanaka?"  
  
Sugawara nods. Moniwa adds, "Futakuchi and Aone will go along as well."  
  
Daichi finishes, "And Oikawa will likely take matters into his own hands. We don't need that many people for a quest, but I suppose if we take into account the number of people we're likely looking for, it's not unacceptable...I'll go to Tokyo as well, so I'll need transport too. Moniwa, if there's anything important while we're gone, you can discuss it with Ennoshita, goodness knows he needs the practice anyway."  
  
Sugawara smiles. "Sounds good! I'll go start packing."

 

* * *

 

  
  
At 10.30a.m., the rag-tag crew leaves the Miyagi camp on a herd of pegasi, heading for the Tokyo base. As they leave, Moniwa hears Futakuchi muttering, "Their lunch better be good over there..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the writing feels so plot-less/draggy currently sigh but it wouldn't be Oikawa if he wasn't fashionably late and the lack of food is turning into a running joke  
> what was Oikawa going to accuse Iwaizumi of? probably some partial truth like walking slowly //laughs i have no idea either because Oikawa probably wouldn't tell an outright lie but at the same time i don't think he would admit why he's late  
> why the Poseidon cabin? there isn't anyone in Poseidon and they (i) don't want to waste space + it's comfy. (was contemplating on making Oikawa a child of poseidon but I didn't want him to be on par with Ushijima so I settled for Aphrodite)  
> if you've got more questions/comments feel free to drop me a message! and i'll reply them heh either in the story or out of it  
> shiratorizawa isn't a school housing demigods it's just that Ushijima is so amazing (and dangerous) he's the only one there


	3. Legio XII Fulminata

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Greeks meet the Romans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> less plot, more self-indulgent bokuaka  
> will rewrite this once i tie down the plot  
> next chapter should be more plot heavy though  
> i'm sorry for taking so long to post this, school has been draining

It's almost twelve noon and Bokuto Koutarou is heading towards the Coliseum to find Akaashi. He supposes Akaashi is training recruits in there, because that's what Akaashi spends most of his time doing anyway (if he isn't training with Bokuto), it was that sheer effort and perseverance that allowed him to learn the Roman style of fighting and rise to the rank of Centurion after all.  
  
Bokuto also really wants to have lunch with Akaashi in New Rome City, because he spent all morning in the Praetors' Office trying to decode the mystery that is recruit forms, (He really shouldn't have listened to Kuroo, that sneaky cat who said it was easy, that drafting the new format of defence games was way tougher) and he thinks he deserves a break, even though he hasn't even made one percent of progress on the forms, at least he tried, right?  
  
As he nears the Coliseum, he notices there isn't anyone there, which definitely strikes him as strange. Akaashi doesn't normally end his training sessions early (or late) without a good reason. Instead, he spies Akaashi at a far corner of the weapons room, placing the various sets of gladius back on the storage racks. Even though the figure is shadowed, Bokuto is pretty sure it's Akaashi, judging by the slight slope of his shoulder as he stands and the meticulous way he handles the gladius, making sure that it's placed exactly the way it was taken out. Bokuto stops in his tracks, waves the forms he's holding and calls out,  
  
"Hey, hey, hey, Akaashi!! I need your help looking over these forms, I tried doing it the first thing I woke up, like you told me to, but I just can't read a word of them!"  
  
Akaashi arches an eyebrow and levels an unimpressed stare at him, which reads Bokuto-san, I thought you were trying, but Bokuto is unfazed. Akaashi always ends up helping him with the paperwork, despite all his admonitions. Sometimes Bokuto thinks he works late into the night, disappearing away from camp, because it's just not humanly possible for anyone to do things that quickly. Even though Bokuto is often told that he's really oblivious, he hasn't failed to notice that Akaashi's eyebags have gotten darker. Akaashi always gives a different reason everytime Bokuto asks, but Bokuto isn't dumb, so now he tries not to get Akaashi's help, especially when Akaashi looks busy, unless it's something like this, because Bokuto really isn't good with Japanese(the kanji flies around the page and confuses him terribly and to make matters worse, sometimes he forgets how to read the kanji). Akaashi's by far the best centurion, Bokuto thinks fondly.  
  
Besides, the feeling he gets when Akaashi breaks out one of his rare smiles (more a wry twist of the lip than a smile, but Bokuto'll take it as one) upon hearing that he's completed his work and says "You did a good job, Praetor Bokuto." in front of all the recruits is worth all the hours that he spends squinting at the texts, even the Latin ones. But the legacies' recruit applications are still one step too high, especially since this is his first time working on it.  
  
"Bokuto-san, did you hear what I just said?" Akaashi, who has by now packed up all the weapons and made his way over to Bokuto is now frowning at him, undoubtedly annoyed at how and why Bokuto lost attention in a topic brought up barely half a minute ago.  
  
"Yeah, Akaashi, I totally did! You said... um, what was it again?"  
  
Akaashi sighs, but it's definitely a fond sigh, no, not a little exasperated at all, (or maybe just a little, or a lot). "I took a look at your forms," He waves the papers, (and since when did he get hold of them? Bokuto looks down at his hands but nope, nothing there), "and it's good that you tried."  
  
"See, I wouldn't let you down!"  
  
Akaashi's mouth quirks slightly. "I'll help you with the forms later." He pauses before clarifying, "Much later, Bokuto-san. There's a disturbance at camp. You should go sort it out." Bokuto knows that he's using his powers to figure this out. Akaashi's powers of sensing human movement are nothing short of excellent, since they've been honed since young, from constant practice and exercise. He's able to identify even a sole disturbance in a crowd, and at a considerable distance, no less. Come to think of it, he probably realised this earlier and that's why he ended the training session early.  
  
Bokuto's plans for lunch are effectively dashed. "But Akaashi..." he whines. Though it's just for theatrics, by now he knows it's futile to argue with Akaashi. Akaashi either stands there and just listens, or if Bokuto's really not making any sense (when he's in one of his moods), he'll simply turn away and wait.  
  
As he had expected, Akaashi pays him no attention. "Come on, Bokuto-san. You've got a job to do." He walks off purposefully and Bokuto has to do a quick jog ahead to keep up with his pace.

* * *

 

  
The forum is packed with demigods from the various cohorts, despite it being empty when Bokuto had walked past earlier. A tall figure with unruly black hair is standing in front of the gathered demigods, gesturing to some vaguely familiar people sitting astride pegasi. They're dressed in orange, and Bokuto supposes they're from Camp Half-Blood. He hasn't seen them since he became a praetor (and that actually wasn't that long ago).  
  
He looks to Akaashi questioningly, but Akaashi gives a blank stare in return, signalling for him to go first. The demigods at the back turn upon hearing their approaching footsteps, and seeing the pair, part respectfully, nudging those in front to make way.  
  
As Bokuto and Akaashi make their way towards the front, Kuroo turns around and seeing them, smirks. "Ah! Bro! Akaashi! We have guests, what took you so long?"  
Next to him, Kenma gives an almost imperceptible shake of his head, so slight that Bokuto doesn't notice it. Akaashi does though, and he takes it as a cue to not return to stand at the front of his cohort. Bokuto grins back in return. "But Kuroo, it's lunchtime! And Akaashi was packing up all the equipment from training but we totally rushed here!" A few snickers are heard from the crowd, which causes Kuroo to turn, eyes narrowing, while Akaashi wrinkles his nose slightly. However, Bokuto doesn't mind, and shifts his attention to the waiting Greek demigods. "Sawamura, was it? I haven't seen you since I became praetor!"  
  
Daichi nods politely, but impatience is clear on his features. He introduces the other Greek demigods, before he gets right to the main point.  
"Do you two have anything to do with what's happening to the Iris Messaging System?"  
  
Upon hearing the accusation, Kuroo feigns shock, before replying innocently, "Sawamura, are you sure? You do know who you're talking to, right? We don't even use the system, since I last checked."  
  
Daichi looks like he's about to fire a sarcastic comment back at Kuroo, which seems uncharacteristic to Bokuto. Clearly, the time he spent waiting for Bokuto and Akaashi to arrive was not particularly pleasant for him.  
  
Bokuto is a mixture of confusion and indignance. _Wait, what is the Iris Messaging System, again, and how does it actually work?!_ Before Bokuto can embarass himself in front of the gathered demigods, Akaashi replies, "Sawamura-san, I'm quite sure it's got nothing to do with us. We haven't used the system in a while, Kuroo-san was quite right."  
  
Daichi looks appeased with that statement. "The problem is, we haven't received any news about first-year campers. Normally, they'd either report earlier, or if they didn't, we'd use our map to locate them and send a team out."  
  
Kuroo is still smirking. "Oya oya oya? What's this map I hear of, so it's not working?" He shakes his head, tsks. "Greek technology."  
  
"I don't think you all are qualified to give an opinion on our technology, since you don't even use Iris Messaging."  
  
Kenma cuts into Kuroo's words. "Kuro, they're facing the same problem as we are."  
  
Now, Bokuto is even more confused. "We were facing a problem?"  
  
Kuroo looks about to splutter, but Kenma continues. "Prophecy is still working, but most connections aided by the gods have stopped. We haven't received any word about recruits from the goddess Lupa, who's the one we keep most contact with."  
  
He stops, and Kuroo has to finish. "So what Kenma's saying is that the goddess is either incapacitated, which isn't likely, or that she hasn't received any new recruits. But it's unlikely that there are no recruits, though...we normally have a small number apart from our legacies."  
  
Kenma then looks to Akaashi, which is already as unusual as it could get, but then Akaashi's face twists in a slight grimace, and now Bokuto has absolutely no idea what is going on. Akaashi says, tentatively, "I haven't spoken to my dad in a while. He hasn't been quite pleased with my performance. The routes to his domain have been closed, I've been checking all of them, but I haven't been able to reach him." He says the last sentence ruefully, in a lower tone, soft enough so that the other demigods won't hear.  
  
"I suspect something escaped."

**Author's Note:**

> Any advice is greatly appreciated!  
> The captains are the head counselors of the various cabins, in case you were wondering.


End file.
